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Apple devices seem to have reached a point where users are holding on to them for longer periods of time, as suggested by a recent report, and there could be some underlying reasons for it. There is a possibility that Apple's increasing support for older devices has caused users to remain on their current handsets and computers, resisting an upgrade every year. However, the results could also stem from recessing economic conditions.
iPhone and Mac owners are holding their devices for longer periods, and there could be various factors contributing to the change in trend
CIRP suggests that there has been a change in users' purchasing patterns, and they are now retaining their devices for longer, including the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. There could be various reasons for the shift in trend. 71 percent of iPhone users in the past year reported that they were using a two-year-old device, which is up from 63 percent in 2020. Mac users have reported the same, with 68 percent of device owners stating that it has been two years since they updated their Mac.
The report mentions that Mac owners specifically used their devices for a longer period compared to the iPhone or iPad. The stats suggest that 56 percent of Mac users are currently holding their devices for three or more years, and in comparison to 2020, there has been a 16 percent increase in the trend. This basically means that there are now fewer users who wish to upgrade their Macs.
CIRP points out that Apple's transition to its custom chips in 2020 could have something to do with an expanding upgrade cycle. Since performance is one of the key aspects that users look at in a computer, Apple Silicon has eradicated most of this approach. Apple Silicon, with its enhanced performance and support continues to rule the industry and it is a point of concern for Apple that fewer users are looking to upgrade to the latest machines.
However, this is not the only factor contributing to users keeping their devices for longer. The global pandemic in 2020 also allowed users to upgrade, as the pandemic promoted teleworking, which created a lot of uncertainty in demand and supply. The global recession is also causing users to stick to their devices for longer, and since the design of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models has remained the same for years, users prefer to hold onto their units until the next big upgrade.
Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman also chimed in previously and mentioned the same theory regarding the demand for Macs. We believe that users prefer to upgrade when the design of the machines has been updated, as performance is satisfactory on the M1 through M3 chips, and it does not remain relevant after some time for some users. However, content creators and professionals would beg to differ in this regard, as performance plays a major role in day-to-day tasks.
